CHANGE YOUR VIEW OF OUR UNIVERSE
GRADES 3-5
DEAR TEACHER:
DO YOU WANT TO TAKE YOUR STUDENTS ON AN AWE-INSPIRING
JOURNEY THROUGH DISTANT GALAXIES AND ENABLE THEM TO
ACCOMPANY SPACEWALKING ASTRONAUTS ON ONE OF THE
MOST IMPORTANT MISSIONS IN NASA’S HISTORY?
Objectives
Build a Robotic Arm
Communication Station
Images from Hubble Simulation
Students will use teamwork to design
and build their robotic arm to model the
Space Shuttle arm used by astronauts.
Students will model the roles of astronauts,
engineers, and scientists as they employ
effective communication skills to complete
a task.
Students will model how satellites send
back information to Earth in the form of
numbers using binary code (a series of
1’s and 0’s).
Teacher Prep
Students will create a mission patch to
symbolize what they have learned about
the Hubble Space Telescope.
You will need:
•the following choice options (or similar
materials) for building the robotic arms:
clothespins, brads, craft sticks, straws,
paper clips, rubber bands, tape (clear
or masking), twine, cardboard scraps,
empty paper towel or tissue rolls,
unsharpened pencils, stacking blocks
(4 per team) made of cardboard, foam,
or other material.
You will need:
•two matching bags of materials (linking
cubes or other common construction
material) for each pair of students.
You will need:
•2 Pencils
•1 Folder
• Data Sheet provided in activity
Engage students by visiting the following website showing images and video
of the robotic arm at work:
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/sm4
Engage students by visiting the following
website and viewing images from Day 2 of
Hubble Servicing Mission 4 (SM4)*: http://
svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/sm4. Point out the images
of team members [astronauts, scientists and
engineers at Goddard Space Flight Center
(GSFC) and Johnson Space Center (JSC)]
communicating to accomplish their tasks.
Tell students they will be using verbal communication to simulate a task while acting
as astronauts and engineers. Students will
develop abilities to apply to the design
process.
Engage students by showing them an
image captured by Hubble at the following site: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/sm4.
Ask students if they’ve ever wondered
how we “get” these images from so
far away. Extend the lesson by having
students repeat the activity using colors.
(Instead of just 1’s and 0’s for black and
white, also assign numbers to different
colors i.e. 2 = blue, 3 = green, etc.)
Extensions
IMAX® is a registered trademark of IMAX Corporation. Photo Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Clarke (Boston University), and Z. Levay (STScI), NASA, ESA, STScI, J. Hester and P.
Scowen (Arizona State University), NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
If the answer is “yes,” we invite you and your students to blast off with the new IMAX film
Hubble 3D. Book a field trip to your local IMAX theatre to give your students an out-ofthis-world learning experience. The engaging classroom activities on this poster, inspired
by the film, will also enhance your students’ understanding of the importance of the
Hubble Space Telescope’s mission. Visit www.imax.com/hubble for additional
activities and vocabulary for grades 3-5 and, for grades 6-8. Enjoy the show!
Lessons address NSES standards (Understanding About Science and Technology; Science as a Human Endeavor; Nature of Scientific Knowledge) and ITEA standards (Understanding
the Influence of Technology on History; Understanding the Role of Troubleshooting, Research and Development, Invention and Innovation, and Experimentation in Problem Solving).
For additional educational materials that support SM4* events, visit: http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/sm4/.
Special acknowledgment and thanks to Bonnie McClain (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Office of Education) and to Bonnie Eisenhamer (Space Telescope Science Institute HST Education Manager) for their contributions.
BRING THE UNIVERSE TO YOUR
STUDENTS’ FINGERTIPS:
Each of the activities provides hands-on extensions connected to viewing Hubble 3D.
IMAX films are ideal teaching tools that:
Engage your
students with
• present new knowledge in a powerful, popular medium
an unforgettable
• inspire thoughtful and lively classroom discussion
learning
• motivate students for extended learning
experience.
Field trips are economical and easily arranged. To book a field trip, contact your local
IMAX theatre today. Visit www.imax.com/newsletter to sign up for the latest news and updates on
IMAX educational programs and events. For locations near you, visit www.IMAX.com.
*Also referred to as the STS-125 mission.
BOOK YOUR IMAX FIELD TRIP TODAY!
©2009 WARNER BROS. ENT.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Worksheet #1
NAME:
GRADE:
In May 2009, NASA astronauts went on an important Space
Shuttle mission. The Hubble Space Telescope Servicing
Mission 4 (SM4)* gave spacewalking astronauts the chance
to make repairs on Hubble. NASA scientists hoped these
improvements would keep the Hubble working for at least five
more years. To make repairs and upgrades, astronaut Megan
McArthur used the Shuttle robotic arm to grab Hubble and
pull it onto a platform for servicing.
An engineer designs tools and machines to solve practical
problems. Imagine you are an engineer. How could you design a
robotic arm like the one used by astronauts who upgraded and
fixed the Hubble Space Telescope?
With your team of four students, design and build a robotic arm
to complete a task.
STEP 1:
View the robotic arm video: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.
gov/sm4.
STEP 2:
Work as a team to design and build a robotic
arm that will stack four blocks on top of one another. You cannot
touch the blocks with your hands, only with the robotic arm.
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define your task objectives and requirements
look at the materials your teacher has made available
agree upon a design for the robotic arm after considering
alternatives
identify materials you will use
draw a sketch of your team’s design before you build it
report to the mission specialist (teacher) to collect your
supplies (including stacking blocks)
STEP 3:
Build and test your robotic arm. Redesign as needed.
STEP 4:
Demonstrate and share your robotic arm design.
STEP 5:
Discuss with your team how you think this activity
might compare to what engineers did when designing the Shuttle
robotic arm. Fill in the chart below with the differences from your
team and the NASA team.
STEP 6:
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OUR TEAM
*Also referred to as the STS-125 mission.
IMAX® is a registered trademark of IMAX Corporation. Photo Credits: NASA and STScI
Debrief. Discuss with your team.
Did your team use all the materials provided? Why or why not?
Which material was most important in your robotic arm design? Why?
How did working as a team help in the design process?
Were there any disadvantages to designing and building as a team?
What did you learn from seeing the designs developed by other
teams?
What advice would you give to a team that was about to complete
this same task?
How would using a robotic arm on a spacewalk be even more
challenging?
Think about the roles and responsibilities of the astronauts, engineers,
and scientists who keep Hubble in working order. Which role do you
like best? Why?
NASA TEAM
©2009 WARNER BROS. ENT.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Worksheet #2
NAME:
GRADE:
Good communication is very important for a space mission to be successful.
The astronauts, engineers, and scientists who worked on the Hubble Space
Telescope in Servicing Mission 4 all had to communicate their ideas clearly,
accurately, and promptly in order to solve problems and complete their daily
tasks during the mission.
Imagine you are an astronaut out in space on a mission, and you need to
communicate to an engineer at the Goddard Space Flight Center. One
mistake in communication could stop the mission from being successful!
How could you communicate your ideas clearly and accurately?
Your teacher will give you and your partner each a bag of matching materials.
Decide who will be the “engineer” and who will be the “astronaut.”
Follow the steps below to simulate what engineers at Goddard Space Flight
Center experienced as they communicated with astronauts on one of the
Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions.
STEP 1: You and your partner sit back--to--back. The
engineer works at his/her desk while the astronaut sits with his/her
back to the engineer.
STEP 2:
Engineer, use the materials to build a structure. Do
not let the astronaut see the structure you have created.
STEP 3: Astronaut, open your bag of materials, but do not
take the materials out.
STEP 4: Engineer, communicate with your astronaut and explain
how to use the materials to re-create the structure you have built.
STEP 5: Astronaut, listen carefully to the engineer as he/she
explains how to build the structure. You may ask questions as you
build. Tell the engineer when you have completed the “mission.”
STEP 6: Astronaut, turn around and show the engineer
your completed structure. Discuss if together you successfully
accomplished your goal of building the same structure.
STEP 7:
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©2009 WARNER BROS. ENT.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
IMAX® is a registered trademark of IMAX Corporation. Image Credits: istock
•
Debrief. Discuss the following with your partner:
Why did your team need each of the roles to accomplish tasks?
Was one role more important than the other? Explain why or why not.
How is this activity similar to what astronauts experience
during spacewalks? How is it different?
Which school subjects would be most helpful for the careers of
an astronaut, astronomer, or engineer? Why?
Worksheet #3
NAME:
GRADE:
Have you ever wondered how we get those amazing images
from space? Engineers at the Space Telescope Operation
Control Center (STOCC) at Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, MD communicate with the Hubble Space Telescope
as it travels at 17,500 mph through space. They tell it where to
point and when to send data from the light images to Earth. The
Hubble then captures light and sends the data through radio
waves to a satellite. Those radio waves then travel to a ground
station on Earth where engineers gather all of the information
and send it to astronomers at the Space Telescope Science
Institute in Baltimore, MD.
STEP 4: HST Team Member: Begin giving the “radio
waves” data to the STOCC Technician in the form of “binary code”
(which means using 1’s and 0’s).
STEP 5: Radio Signal Team Member - you are the
transmitter. You receive data from the HST Team Member and
carry the data over to the STOCC Technician Team Member.
Your teacher will not give your team any direction on communication. Your team needs to decide how to transmit the data. Don’t
forget, you can only deliver data as 1’s and 0’s, no hand signals or
other communication allowed.
STEP 6: Debrief. Discuss with your team.
STEP 1: Work with your team of three. Each team
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member will select a role to play:
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Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
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A radio signal
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An STOCC Technician
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Scientists and engineers find these satellite images
from Hubble very useful. Can you think of other jobs
people have where Hubble images could be used?
STEP 2: HST Team Member - Gather your supplies: a
\\\ BONUS ACTIVITY:
pencil, a folder, and a data sheet (see data sheet below). Draw
an image or pattern on the data sheet by filling in blocks. Hide
your pattern from your teammates.
You’ve learned a lot about the Hubble Space Telescope! For
nearly 40 years, NASA astronauts have designated patches to
symbolize their individual space missions and flight accomplishments. Now it’s your turn! Design a mission patch (see
example below) for your team that represents what you’ve
learned about the Hubble Space Telescope.
STEP 3: STOCC Technician Team Member - Gather your
supplies: a pencil and a data sheet. Sit far away from the HST.
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DATA SHEET
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B
A
IMAX® is a registered trademark of IMAX Corporation. Photo Credits: NASA
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©2009 WARNER BROS. ENT.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED